Approximately 2.5 billion won in support to the organizers
SCMP “Even the administrative minister didn’t know about the no-show”
“The Hong Kong government and football fans are very disappointed.”
When world-famous soccer star Lionel Messi did not participate in a friendly match between his U.S. Major League Soccer (MLS) team Inter Miami and the Hong Kong professional soccer all-star team on the 4th, the Hong Kong government announced this position and began to withdraw support funds.
According to Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post (SCMP) on this day, the government notified after the game that it “demands an explanation from the organizers” and “will recover some of the millions of dollars spent to support the event.”
“The Major Sports Events Commission (MSEC), a government agency, will follow up in accordance with the terms of the contract, including the possibility of sponsorship deductions,” he explained.
On this day, the game was given an ‘M mark’ rating by the government advisory committee. This means that it is a major national sporting event in Hong Kong.
The organizer, Tatler Asia, received 15 million Hong Kong dollars (about 2.56 billion won) in match funds and 1 million Hong Kong dollars (about 170 million won) in stadium subsidies.
Citing several sources, the media said, “The government knew that Messi would play as captain this morning,” and “We were not notified of the change in plans until we discovered that Messi’s name was not on the roster right before the game.”
It was also reported that Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee was confident that Lionel Messi would play until just before the game.
The organizers said, “We had no idea that Messi would not play.”
In this day’s game, Messi stayed on the bench instead of playing on the field due to a hamstring injury.
According to the media, Tatler Korea, the organizer, promoted the match in recent weeks by highlighting the participation of star Messi.
Ticket prices soared up to 4,880 Hong Kong dollars (about 840,000 won).
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.